spivey

OK, a person then: Shot indoors with only a ceiling light fixture holding a couple CF bulbs -- ISO 12800. For an APS class camera I think this is pretty impressive. Excellent color and noise barely an issue.
 
 

Got my XT-2 on the 9th sept but not really had a chance to try it out. So this morning before all the Sunday jobs
I pop out as i live very close to Laycock in Wiltshire to just shoot a few off to try it out WOW thats all I can say make my XT-1 a bit of slow coach
All taken with the Fuji 16-55 colour is set Provia and b+w Acros not great shots but just trying it out quickly
 

Yesterday was so busy that I didn't have time to post new pictures. Here they are!
 
Men Pursuit @IBU Summer Biathlon WCH Otepää 2016 by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
 
X-T2 + 50-140/2,8
 
Junior Men Pursuit @IBU Summer Biathlon WCH Otepää 2016 by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-Pro2 + 14/2,8
 
Men Pursuit @IBU Summer Biathlon WCH Otepää 2016 by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-T2 + 50-140/2,8
 
Men Pursuit @IBU Summer Biathlon WCH Otepää 2016 by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-T2 + 50-140/2,8
 
As the competition is now over, I'm going to return the pre-production model and will be waiting for mine which I hope to receive soon! As I said previously, the X-T2 is a huge leap forward from X-T1 and also at least for me a step forward from X-Pro2. It just suits better for photojournalists as I am, especially for Sports and action stuff, which is my main subject. Battery grip makes it much more handier and also boosts performance quite significantly, which does make it almost DSLR like, just in a smaller body. X-Pro2 is in my opinion more suited for street photography or documentary, when you have to be less noticeable, but you still need fast AF with great image quality (which due to same sensor and processor is just the same as X-T2). Biggest difference between X-T2 and X-T1 for me is speed and I don't mean AF speed of FPS, I mean responsiveness and shutter lag. Using them side-by-side, you can feel the difference and how much faster you can take shots and miss them less with X-T2. Beside that there is also much more accurate and faster AF system. I saw biggest difference when using one point AF, where X-T2 performs much better than X-T1. X-T1 in my opinion can't track too well with one point and tends to miss to much. This is why I didn't use it too much on X-T1, but got used to it again using X-T2.
 
But everything isn't rainbows and butterflies still with X-T2. Main thing is still that batteries just don't last, even on normal mode. I used five full batteries in a day and had only three chargers to charge them so after three days of shooting and charging as much as I could meantime I finished last day with just one battery with juice in it . Quite a close call! Also I felt quite paranoid as when battery level went to one bar I felt that after next shot I will see the red sign. It just disturbs. I wish that Fuji could offer in some foreseen future new batteries, so I wouldn't have to fill my pockets with them every time I leave for shooting. Beside the batteries, I'm quite annoyed that rating system in Fuji isn't working in LR CC, so I couldn't mark the photos I would like to edit as I'm used to do on my Canon and also the time data on Fuji files are recorded somewhat wrongly as the photos are mixed up in LR when sorted by shooting time. This really slows down my workflow. These are minor things, but are important for working pros as I am.

I have grip always on, but I use Boost mode only when I need it. This one is taken by using Boost mode. AF is better than X-Pro2, even without Boost mode. It tracks much, much better and I completely missed only few shots out of hundreds!
 
Here are some photos from today:
 
Men Sprint @IBU Summer Biathlon WCH Otepää 2016 by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-Pro2 + 14/2,8
 
Women Sprint @IBU Summer Biathlon WCH Otepää 2016 by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-Pro2 + 14/2,8
 
Women Sprint @IBU Summer Biathlon WCH Otepää 2016 by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-Pro2 + 14/2,8
 
Women Sprint @IBU Summer Biathlon WCH Otepää 2016 by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-T2 + 14/2,8
 
Junior Women Sprint @IBU Summer Biathlon WCH Otepää 2016 by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-T2 + 50-140/2,8
 
Junior Men Sprint @IBU Summer Biathlon WCH Otepää 2016 by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-T2 + 14/2,8
 
Today I shot everything in JPEG, so all the photos here are just a little edited JPEGs from both cameras. I'm really surprised, how well those JPEGs can handle editing. My X-T1 files handled it quite well, but this new sensor and processor combo is some kind of sorcery! I also really enjoy using new X-T2, with grip it feels like tailored for my hand and it balances with 50-140/2,8 really well. I think that X-T2 might be the camera which will move me (mostly) away from Canon! Huge, huge step forward from X-T1...

It has been just few days since I left Rio and I had a day to recharge my batteries (my own one and also all of my Fuji ones) and now I'm shooting Summer Biathlon World Championships in southern Estonia. Fujifilm Estonia is again helping me and gave me one X-T2 with battery booster for the event (first camera here in Estonia) and let me keep X-Pro2 also which I had with me at the Olympics. So now I can compare them side-by-side and show you pictures from both cameras. When I have time, I will post my first remarks. After first day at least I can say that X-T2 suits my style much better. Bigger EVF, battery booster (which really boosts the camera) and faster AF are the first things to mark down, where X-T2 is kicking X-Pro2s butt
 
Official Training @IBU Summer Biathlon WCH Otepää 2016 by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-T2 + 50-140/2,8
 
Official Training @IBU Summer Biathlon WCH Otepää 2016 by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-Pro2 + 14/2,8
 
Mixed Relay Juniors @IBU Summer Biathlon WCH Otepää 2016 by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-T2 + 14/2,8
 
Mixed Relay @IBU Summer Biathlon WCH Otepää 2016 by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-Pro2 + 18-55/2,8-4
 
Mixed Relay @IBU Summer Biathlon WCH Otepää 2016 by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-Pro2 + 18-55/2,8-4
 
Mixed Relay @IBU Summer Biathlon WCH Otepää 2016 by Hendrik Osula, on Flickr
 
X-T2 + 50-140/2,8
 
All comments and questions are welcome!

Thanks, Rico! This is the review I've been waiting for

Thanks, Rico! This is the review I've been waiting for

More than 12,000 words illustrated with hundreds of sample images, animated GIFs and videos, so here it is: the most comprehensive First Look Review you might ever read. 
 
The Complete Camera 
by Rico Pfirstinger
Click here: http://www.fujirumors.com/first-look-review-fujifilm-x-t2/
 

Didn't know whether to put this in general or the X-T1/X-T10 board. Move as you wish.

Anyway, as I alluded to in the comments a few days back, I have been able to get my hands on a pre-production X-T2... for about 60 seconds. There is nothing new I can report which hasn't already been talked about on the FR front page; Patrick's got everything covered and evidently his sources are in a better position to give you close-up photos and videos and whatever. If you want new information, there's little I can say.
What I can do is confirm some of the things people weren't sure about, and give you my impressions from having held it for about the time it took for my friend to eat his muffin, and chatting about it for a few minutes. Which isn't much, but hey; rumours are the best we've got, usually, so hands-on is a small step up, at least.
 
First, a few questions which I know will come up, and I'm just going to shoot down right away:

Q: Do you have any raw files to share, did you shoot any 4k video, etc?
A: No. It's not my camera. It's not a camera I'm supposed to have seen. It's not a camera I got to go out shooting with. I just got to hold it for literally a minute, look through the viewfinder, turn a few dials, glance at the menu, etc.

Q: How did you get it?
A: Several of my friends work in the industry; a couple are Fuji X photographers. I met one for coffee, he happened to have the camera with him. He let me hold it while he ate a muffin. That's literally all. There's no exciting super secret 007 spy story. 
 
Q: Can you give us [things which would give away your friend's identity]? Can they come and post here about their experience with the X-T2?
A: No. I've not signed an NDA or made any embargo agreement with Fuji, so I can say whatever the hell I like. He can't. Every X photographer and member of the press who has been granted use of an X-T2 has signed an NDA. Giving away anything which could lead Fuji to work out who talks to who could mean very real, very serious legal trouble for those photographers. So I won't say anything which could be used to identify any of my friends or info sources, and none of them post here or on any other Fuji-specific forum. They know I talk, but they also trust me to keep their identities completely safe and secret.

Q: Why should we believe you?
A: Common sense dictates that you shouldn't. Like all rumours, it would be smart for you to take everything with a big pinch of salt. All I can say is that most people who follow the front page probably have a good idea of my track record with talking about design aspects of bodies, which are later confirmed by Patrick's own sources. But if you don't wish to believe me, that's fine. I wouldn't believe me, either. That's the nature of rumours and talking about products which haven't been officially released yet.

Q: Did you also see a 23mm f/2 lens?
A: No.
 
 
Okay, obvious questions out the way, here's what I can elaborate on:

The photos Patrick's sources have been sharing with him are, undoubtably, legitimate. (As if there was any doubt at this point.)  The unit I saw is identical to those. 
All the things which I've mentioned before in the front page comments and Patrick's had as more reliably-rumoured specs, are right there. All the obvious stuff: dual SD slots, function button instead of dedicated video button, 1/250th sync speed, etc. Again, as if there was any doubt left, I can confirm that everything which has been repeatedly reported on the front page is accurate. This is why I say there's nothing new to talk about. Patrick's coverage has been incredibly accurate.

In terms of feel, it does seem a tiny bit bigger and heavier than the X-T1, but having not held an X-T1 for over a year—I sold my pair to 'trade down' to a couple of X-T10s—I could simply be misremembering the X-T1's size and weight. I couldn't exactly whip out a measuring tape and a set of scales to weigh it. In any case, it's not a problem. Still a small body, still a light body. Balanced perfectly with the 23mm f/1.4 which was on it. No need to worry about the size increase. I only noticed it because I was specifically thinking about it.
The textured parts of the surface—the fake leather texture—feels a little less rubbery and has a more pronounced texture than I remember the X-T1 having. (Certainly much nicer than the T10 has.) The smooth metal areas feel the same, no change there.

The concentric control dials are much nicer than before. I'd been told months ago (and mentioned it on the front page) that the lock buttons had been revised, and it does seem that way. They sit very slightly higher than the dial than they did before and pressing them required a bit more force, with a more definite click as they locked/unlocked. Not so much of a change that it will slow you down, but I can now see how this will definitely be enough to stop any accidental turning of the top dials. The dials are very slightly taller, as you've all seen; they also had a slightly colder feel, which I can only assume means they're being cut from a denser metal than before. Each dial felt very slightly stiffer to turn than before, too; though this could just be because it's obviously a newer body, since those things tend to get looser with age.
 
Viewfinder is bigger than before. How much bigger, I couldn't say; I've no way of meauring it and my friend didn't know a specific figure, either. But he'd told me before that it felt bigger to him, and looking through it myself, it did seem bigger, to me. Again, though, it's been a while since I looked through an X-T1's viewfinder—even when I had the X-T1, I alway use the rear screen—so I could be misremembering, but the T2's is at least as big as the Sony α7II's, a camera I've used more recently and can compare more clearly.
 
Refresh rate seemed flawless. Way above what the T1, Pro2, or α7II give. Again, I've no way of counting a specific number. I know that thing came out recently about it being 100fps. I don't know how I'd count 100fps. All I can say is we were sat in the back of an average-dimly lit high street coffee shop, and I didn't notice any lag or stuttering or anything. By far the most faultless EVF I've seen. The only way I could tell it wasn't an OVF is because of the brightness and the applied colour profile. (Film simulation.) Otherwise it may as well be an OVF. Hell, it's better than an OVF. Much brighter, under those conditions. If Pro2 owners get to look through this, they're going to question why they spent so much money on having an optical viewfinder. Like I said, no way of giving you specific figures, but I can say that the T2's EVF is by far the best SLR-style viewfinder I've ever looked through.
 
Rear screen, other than the new hinging—yes, it hinges just like Patrick's photos show—seems the same as the Pro2's. It's fine; great, even. It's what I typically use 99.99% of the time. But yeah, nothing special to say here, 'cause Patrick's photos have already shown you all of the hinging. Yes, it tilts up, down, and left and right. Or up and down in landscape and up and down in portrait, if you prefer thinking of it that way. Didn't seem any weaker or tougher than the T1's style of tilting. It's fine, it works, don't worry about it.
 
Yes, it's got 4K. He doesn't shoot video at all, and I don't shoot video with SLR or mirrorless, so this isn't an area either of us care about. I just saw that 4K was mentioned in the menu, and he told me that Fuji had told him it has a 10-minute limit on 4K files. So, kinda the same situation as Nikon's in. (They have a 3-minute limit, right?) But yeah, it's not something either of us uses, so I don't know what else I could tell you about this. But it does it, there. Another thing to tick off on the back of the box for marketing. Other video options remain unchanged from the Pro2, as far as I could see/tell with my limited interest in mirrorless video.
 
Focus on a still subject—my coffee cup—under slightly-dim lighting seemed the same as the Pro2. Used the 23mm f/1.4. Same focus point arrangement as the Pro2. Same joystick for AF point control on the back a the Pro2 has. We already knew it had it, of course, but I've seen some people wish for it to be larger, have more positive movement, etc. It felt exactly the same, to me. So no change there.
Can't say anything on focus tracking. Didn't test it. Not many high-speed subjects in the back of a Starbucks.

Burst rate is faster than the Pro2's. Apparently, Fuji told him it could max out at 9fps. He told me he's experienced some slowdown for focusing, etc, which is normal for any camera. So he reckons 8.5fps is what you actually get. I gave it a quick go just pointing at the table, to see where the buffer would kick in. It didn't seem to last any longer than the Pro2's, but it did get 32 frames of uncompressed raw in the same time span. (About 3 seconds, felt like.) That's about 5 or 6 more than the Pro2 manages, and for the same stretch of time, that does work out to be around 9fps. So I expect Fuji are being honest when they told him 9fps is the max. A dark table in a dim room is a pretty easy and quick scene to capture, so pretty ideal for maxing out the FPS and buffer. Who knows if they'll try to market it as 9fps or 8.5, or even just 8, so people aren't disappointed when it comes to bursting more complex shots. In any case, it got more shots in the same time as the Pro2 does, so we've got a faster burst and a deeper buffer, but ultimately covering the same 3-and-a-bit seconds.
Like I said, just pointed at the table, so I can't speak for how well that keeps up when combined with continuous focus tracking.
I don't know about the boost mode with the grip. Didn't have it on the camera. If they split the burst so it's 8fps without grip, for consistency, and 11fps with the grip for speed, that'd make sense. Having the camera without the grip be capable of 9fps but only shoot at 8fps is a sensible thing to do for the sake of the shutter's lifespan, write speeds, being able to market a deeper buffer, etc. But right there this afternoon, with no grip, it shot above 8fps.
The only thing about the grip I can say is that, having seen the basic body in person, it definitely will be a new grip. There's no way the old grip would be compatible with this body. Different door shapes, different grip depth. Fuji did send the new grip to him with the body, but he's just not a grip user so he's not bothered with it. I am a grip user, so I asked more about it, but yeah, he doesn't use it so not much to say. It's new, it's got that boost mode, and the old grip won't work. Everything we already knew, basically.
 
As far as focusing, burst, and write speeds go, the camera was in the high performance mode. Didn't try putting it in power saving. I can only assume everything slows down in power saving, just like with every other Fuji camera.

Write speed for a single frame felt to be about the same speed as the Pro2, with an SDXC card in the UHS-II slot. This wasn't a technical test, no other cards to try in different slots.

Start up time seems the same as the Pro2 and wake up time felt a tiny bit faster than the Pro2. Couldn't time it, obviously. But it seemed a fraction quicker.

Battery he had in it was the same old NP-W126. I expressed some disappointment on this, because I'm always hoping for larger-capacity batteries. But I remain hopeful, because the battery is one of the things which most commonly changes between pre-production and final release models. I really hope this is changed and we get a bigger capacity for the release. But for what it's worth, this pre-production unit was using the NP-W126, just like the Pro2, Pro1, T1, T10, E2, E1...
 
Nothing new in terms of colour profiles (film simulations), .jpg settings, etc. All the same as the Pro2. No idea on raw handling because, of course, no software supports T2 raws, yet. But my friend said the .jpgs he's been shooting have been identical to the ones out of his Pro2, so yeah. Everything's the same there, as we all expect.

Micro USB port, unlabelled, but it looked to me like a micro B, and he told me Fuji said it's USB 3.0, though he's had no use for it. (Of course, no software right now supports the T2.) That should help for tethering, I suppose? Not that Fuji's tethering is worth a damn. In any case, hey, looks like a micro USB 3.0 port is on the cards. (Though wasn't the Pro2 meant to have micro USB 3.0, too? But that ended up having micro USB 2.0. So I won't be surprised if Fuji decides to be cheap and downgrades the T2 to USB 2.0. But hey, pre-production has 3.0.)
 
Mini HDMI port is still there. I'm guessing that it's a D-type, like the Pro2 has; he didn't know which particular version and I don't know enough about the different types of mini HDMI to identify it. It's unlabelled. In any case, hey, it's there, looks just like it is with the Pro2. Ditto for the audio ports.
 
Doors for battery/port/card access all have the same double action hinge and latch as the Pro2's battery door has. It's just less flimsy than the T1 had. Nothing about them suggested to me that it is any better weather-sealed, though. Feels very much like this is still a 'weather resistant' body and not a 'weather sealed' body.
 
All the stuff people have bizarrely asked for, even though it's obvious it would never have, were indeed not there: no IBIS, no pop-up flash, no CF cards, no APS-H or 35mm sensor, no bayer sensor.

 
 
So, there you have it. Everything I could glean from ~60 seconds with a pre-production X-T2 body. I don't think there's anything else to say, didn't get to give it a proper test or mount my own lenses or memory cards or shoot with it. I'll happily answer questions if I can, but I don't know what else I could say; if you're curious about something which I've not already written about, then chances are it's something I didn't look at or think to ask about. Obviously I'm asking about the camera as much as I can without being annoying, and I hope I'll be able to beg for a little more time with it at some point. But for now, that's about the extent of all I know and saw.
 
This might be interesting to you, it might be boring, I don't know. Just thought I may as well share 'cause I can.

The 56mm, but before you throw it from your roof, please let me know your address.

These shots were my first attempts at doing real astrophotography. I was super inspired by the super dark skies up at 11000 feet on the volcano. The 14 was a little limiting however. I'm now looking at the Rokinon 12mm f2 for next time. The extra stop would be useful as well as the extra width. It was really hard to get the trees and much of the Milky Way in the shot with only a 21mm equivalent focal length.
 
Oh, BTW, the shot that appears to be a sunset ... it isn't. When have you seen the stars above a sunset? ;-) ;-)
 
 

 

 

 

For the love of G*d, a battery indicator that gives you an idea about remaining battery charge. Like percentage display or something. Or just divide the old one into 5 bars and make it work.

You're welcome!
 
I would take my crappy phone EVF pics with a grain of salt. It's actually much harder to tell in actual use. The X-Pro2's EVF doesn't look small...it's a great EVF. The 85fps is amazing.
 
However, the X-T1's is bigger and if you use them back-to-back or (like I did) X-Pro2 right eye, X-T1 left eye...it's significant. 

There's definite improvement here. I shot mostly in downtown Vancouver at night but I did find focus snappier than on my X-T1. I usually used the EVF and having it in ISO12,800 looks like night-vision most of the time. 
 
 
I could not get it to take only one picture with 8.0fps selected. At least two each time but it didn't black out anything with the animation. 
 
Single shot time is improved. Seems to process quicker (I use the same Samsung 90mb/s cards in both).

I don't do this often but it did seem quicker. I think the X-T1 has slight lag in between shots but the X-Pro2 seemed to snap them off with no delay. Completely unscientific test and keep in mind that this isn't the final firmware.
 
 
I don't know what you mean by how spaced they are. You lift the outer edge of the dial and turn to adjust the ISO and just turn it to adjust shutter speed. It's quite easy to get the hang of. You only lift the dial about 2-3mm for ISO and the gap doesn't look big enough for water to get in there unless you really dunk it.

Dynamic range looks pretty damned good. Significant improvement over the X-T1. I went around shooting at ISO 12,800 at night in the city and especially using the new B&W filters, things look great. Pumped up to 400% DR, it looks almost HDR in some photos. I'll post samples when I've got them downloaded.
 
And as far as I know, there's no way to edit the RAW files at the moment but I assume you can push the limits even more then. 

So I upgraded from X100 to X-T10. And I'm disappointed. What has happened to the Film Simulations? Almost everyone of them is completely useless. The colors are not distinct, they seem to lack nuances, I get at blurry smeared feeling ant not that vibrant, precise and clear colors i got out of my X100. And worst of all: The X-T10 always clips the shadows, carving black holes in the picture.
 
I first noticed this when i edited pictures I've taken on a baptism lately. Most men were wearing black suits. And the suits completely dissapeared in huge black spots. It was allmost impossible to drag at least some details out from the shadows. A problem I've never had with my X100 who naturally and gradualy fades out the shadows in a beautiful way.

So I set up a test to try to mimic the X100 Provia colors. This was the X100 shot:
 

 
As you can see. The brown fur looks completely natural. I used DR200 and Provia Standard settings. You can almost touch and feel it. The smoothness... It's a fur, and it shows. Also notice the warm redish brown tone to the teak-chair. Completely true to life. Beutiful.

With the same standard Provia settings on my X-T10 i get this:
 

 
Look at those black areas in the fur! Looks real? Still DR200. No. Looks touchable? No. It looks terrible. And the warm redish brown in the chair is completely gone. Replaced with a unreal orange-brown color. Not true to life.

So i switched color mode. Everything was wore except Pro Negative Standard. After adding +2 to colors I get a much better fur. But now we get other problems...
 

 
The nice saturated colors on the child book is now quite dull. Not as all as vibrant and pure as in real life. And the chair. Still that strange orange tone. But a huge improvement from the X-T10 Provia no doubt.

Finally i tried replicating the X100 colors from the RAW file in Aperture and got quite a bit closer. What I did was to open the raw file, recover in the highlights +1 EV and adjusted the black point, down -0,3. That's it. The rest is due to Aperture.
 

 
The fur is now much more real and the colors are more vibrant. The pinkish text on the book is now almost red, which is not true to live. Still I prefer this in front of the Pro Negative Standard, color +2 image. But I'm still not happy.

I really miss my old X100 colors and I can't seem to reproduce them. Anyone else out there that has noticed the same thing. What do you do? Do we all have to start using 30+ MB Raw files all sudden??

It's a know difference of Fuji Color Profiles on different cameras. You can see that from DPreview tests
 
Fuji had a bit wider DR (-6 : +3.5) on cameras: X-Pro1, X100, X-E1
Now Fuji has more narrow DR (-4 : +4) on cameras: X100T, X-E2, X-T1, X-T10
 
That's why you see darker tones for same Provia profile.
 
DPreview comments on that:
"The X-T1 offers around 4EV of highlight range, with a relatively gentle roll-off at the top rather than an abrupt clip to white. This gives a quite natural-looking, 'flim-like' response. At the other end of the range, though, it dips down rather abruptly to black, which gives distinctly punchy images but does mean that shadows are somewhat prone to blocking up."
 
I'm having similar disappointment, but trying to resolve it by:
1. Tune Color Profile tweaks
2. Overexpose +0.3EV
3. Use DR200

It's a know difference of Fuji Color Profiles on different cameras. You can see that from DPreview tests
 
Fuji had a bit wider DR (-6 : +3.5) on cameras: X-Pro1, X100, X-E1
Now Fuji has more narrow DR (-4 : +4) on cameras: X100T, X-E2, X-T1, X-T10
 
That's why you see darker tones for same Provia profile.
 
DPreview comments on that:
"The X-T1 offers around 4EV of highlight range, with a relatively gentle roll-off at the top rather than an abrupt clip to white. This gives a quite natural-looking, 'flim-like' response. At the other end of the range, though, it dips down rather abruptly to black, which gives distinctly punchy images but does mean that shadows are somewhat prone to blocking up."
 
I'm having similar disappointment, but trying to resolve it by:
1. Tune Color Profile tweaks
2. Overexpose +0.3EV
3. Use DR200

At last, I can switch off the irritating "camera shake" warning for shutter speeds below 1/60. Thanks, Fuji!

I really don't get the importance of edge sharpness at wide open. Especially at f1.4 when the DOF is very shallow, you are very unlikely to WANT egde sharpness and the cances are that the perimeter is not going to be in the same plane anyway. What you really want is subject separation, and faster shutter speed and the f1.4 will deliver that for you. In addition for portrature people used to add a soft focus filter, so razor sharpness is not called for. Having said that I find the 35mm f1.4 absolutely delightfull.
 
If I was going to shoot city scape or landscape I would use f4 to f11 in any case. So I am happy to stick with my 35mm f1.4 lens
 
(Now bring on the X-PRO2 specs!!!)

Also remember that "open aperture" AF metering is only available in AF-S and MF (Instant-AF) modes. Not in AF-C mode. Instead, AF-C is always using the working aperture of the shot.
 
This is also important for daylight shooting, as stopping down in AF-C will increase your DOF, but it will at the same time decrease the chance that the camera can still use the fast predictive PDAF instead of the slower CDAF to track your subject. So stopping down can actually mean that your action series works less well (= less keepers) than shooting the same scene with a wide open lens and less DOF.
 
That's why it's important to know how your camera actually really works. Since Fuji doesn't explain any of this, I spend countless hours "reverse engineering" such details, then sharing them in forums, blogs, books and workshops that cover such "secrets". It's simple news to use.
 
It's also important to understand the effects that Face Detection can have on AF performance. I have seen many users always keeping it turned on, which is clearly a mistake.
 
Other users have problems determining proper settings for AF-S and AF-C priority: Release or Focus? It depends, but as long as you exactly know what these options are doing, you can improve your keeper rate.
 
Not to mention users that keep their camera at factory settings for parameters such as Power Management and not enabling High Performance Mode. Terrible mistake.
 
And how does/can Pre-AF influence your AF performance? Are there instances where Pre-AF is actually recommended? Well, yes, but certainly not always, so don't turn it on by default.
 
How do Single-Point AF frames actually work in firmware 4? What's the practical difference between CDAF and PDAF, what does each of these two AF methods "like" in a subject? How can we use this information to increase AF speed and accuracy by pointing the camera at patterns and objects that either the CDAF or the PDAF are particularly fond of? In my world, that's useful information, too, so we are practicing this kind of stuff in our workshops.
 
What about AF zones? Yep, they are new, but how do they actually work, and how can we use this information to increase our AF keeper rate? And what's the difference between an AF zone in AF-S and one in AF-C, anyway?
 
Or let's talk about the new WIDE/TRACKING. Pretty much useless in concert with AF-S, but very useful in concert with AF-C. At least in some scenarios, where real "3D tracking" is required.
 
The more features and options we get, the more homework we have to do. For me, it's not about trusting the autofocus. It's about knowing it. 

MILCs can use the maximum aperture of the lens (such as 1.4 or 1.2), while DSLRs autofocus with dedicated sensors that can't make use of anything brighter than f/2.8. 
 
So with MILCs like Fuji X, it really depends on the lens you use. Use a bright lens (even if you stop down for the shot) and your low-light AF experience will improve.

+1 to this.
And also a much better (precise) battery level indicator.

Focus was set on the flower left-most position.

 




 
 
Sorry for my none mother tongue english