Short Focusing Test Between the Fujifilm X-T1 And The Olympus E-M1

Derelict, Chincoteague Island, Virginia (click to enlarge)
Olympus E-M1, 12-40mm lens @ 20mm; 1/1250th sec. @ f/8; ISO 200

To me, there is quite a difference I feel in using the X-T1 versus the E-M1.  Both are really good tools, produce excellent image files and I really like using them both.  If I didn't, I would have sold the system that I didn't prefer.  In fact, I wish I could make a choice and I have tried, but can't.  I continue to use both systems regularly.

One aspect of both cameras that I find very different is the shutter button and the subsequent autofocusing that occurs afterwards, culminating in the shutter being released.  I have made thousands and thousands if images with both cameras using a a variety of high quality OEM lenses with each.  But something was bugging me about using the Fuji.  It just seemed to me that the Fuji just didn't focus as fast as the Olympus but I had no data to prove or disprove my sense about them.

I set out to set up and conduct a basic and somewhat rudimentary test to ascertain for myself if there is a consistent difference in focusing speed between the two or if what I had sensed was merely my imagination.  Here is what I did.

I set both cameras on sturdy tripods at the same height and distance from a brick wall with lots of texture.  Both cameras were set as to be parallel and plumb to the wall.  I set each camera at base ISO, aperture priority, lenses set wide open.  I would take images at various focal lengths and manually rack the focus of each lens to its nearest focusing point between each exposure.  I wanted to also test the focusing speed of the lenses when they were not racked in to minimum focus as that may better simulate real life conditions.  As we know, when we make images, we don't reset focus between exposures.  Additionally, I wanted to test at least two different sets of lenses.

The lenses I used were the Fuji 18-55mm f/2.8-4 and the Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO lenses.  I tested the two lenses at the 35mm equivalent of 28mm, 50mm and 80mm. I also tested the highly touted Fuji 23mm f/1.4 lens against the Olympus 17mm f/1.8 lens. I made at least five exposures for each test. 

Chairs, Beach and Atlantic Ocean, Assateague Island, VA (click to enlarge)
E-M1, 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO lens @ 150mm; 1/500th sec. @ f/8; ISO 200

How did I measure focus speed?  In the scene was my smart phone with a timer app running that showed hundredths of a second.  I would watch the time and count along with the time—7, 8, 9, 10,11,12,13,14, and when the cadence reached 15 (in this example), I pressed both shutters simultaneously. So there would be no unconscious difference in which finger may have pressed a particular camera's shutter a fraction of a second sooner, I switched camera positions to I used both left and right index finger for some of the tests on each camera.

I don't know if there are any flaws in my testing.  I tried to make everything as equal as possible and remove any variations between the two camera/lens combinations.

What I found is that I was correct in my sense that the Olympus consistently focused faster than the Fuji.  In every case, the Olympus E-M1 focused faster than the Fuji X-T1. 

In averaging the difference in all the tests on the two zoom lenses, the E-M1 focused and fired the shutter 0.208 seconds faster.  The individual tests varied from 0.44 seconds down to 0.08 seconds difference between the two.  That variation probably tells me that my technique had some impact.  That is the reason I ran many, many tests so I could average any differences out of the results that may have been induced by me.

When moving to the fixed focal length lenses, the difference grew to 0.231 seconds on average.  The largest difference was 0.31 seconds and the smallest was 0.17.  Again, the Olympus focused and released the shutter faster in every test.  Again, as well, several tests were run to eliminate any variation that I may have induced.

Finally, in testing the lenses without racking the focus all the way in between shots, the Olympus still focused and released the shutter faster, varying from 0.39 seconds to 0.09 seconds.

Thinking "big picture,"  any way you look at these cameras and lenses, they focus quite fast and we are so fortunate to have this kind of technology available to us as photographers.  I have no complaints with either camera system.

Is a fifth to a quarter of a second significant?  You'll have to decide.  It will depend upon the types of photography you practice.  If you are a street photographer, it just might.  If you are landscape and nature photographer, it may not mean a thing to you.  I test these things to satisfy my own curiosity and to build my knowledge base.  I just try to share with all of you what I find.  My testing may not be meaningful to some, but to others it just might be.

I'm only putting this out on the Internet for general purposes.  Again, I don't know if my testing is somehow flawed.  I don't have any testing equipment to precisely press shutters at certain times.  I test based upon my specific gear, my skill sets and my 45 years of experience.  However, this particular exercise confirmed my sense that my Olympus E-M1 consistently focuses faster than my Fuji X-T1. 

Other cameras of the same model and other lenses may vary, so I can't speak for any other but the ones I tested.

This sense of "instant" focusing is another reason I really love my E-M1 and those terrific Olympus lenses I use.

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook 

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